Today was the day to say good bye to Conan. (Pictured on the left) He is a 100% Boer Buck I have shown several times and had a medical condition which left him sterile. I raised Conan from a youngster and have won several first places and best male under a year at the Central Alabama Fair. My friend Paul Bains was kind enough to take him to Clantin, Alabama to be processed into Sausage. Unfortunately when one lives on a farm, everyone must pay their way and my freezer is low and has room for some sausage. The bucks will have a strong taste to them, so are usually made into sausage. The spices cover the buck taste and the hickory smoke really adds for a flavorful gourmet sausage.
I will use his pen for a breeding group of Icelandic Sheep. He lived a pampered life as a show goat and a quick end. He weighed 240 pounds, which surprised me, I thought he weighed in at 300 pounds. His younger brother The Rock has taken his place as the next generation 100% Boer Buck in our herd. These Boers are like Angus Cattle, all meat and built like a hummer.
Angel, a Nigerian Dwarf is still holding out, and has been ready to pop kids for over a week now. I think Elsie may go before her now and put her into a maternity pen. Elsie had quints this spring and is huge.
The weather has been very cold for the south. Yesterday it froze and was in the low 30s, this morning a record was broken in Montgomery for 31 degrees from the old 32 degrees. It was cold this morning, had to scrape ice and was probably 30 degrees here in Selma, although this was official from my temp gage in my truck. The wool was really appreciated in socks, mittens and hat this morning.
The right photo is my Ashford Traveler Spinning Wheel. I started on a hand spindle and my first yarn looked like binder twine. Yea, it was that bad. I made that first horrible yarn into a planter with macrame (spelling probably not correct.) I learned macrame when I was in elementary school and still make hanging planters with the techniques I learned as a kid. Over time one gets better and now I can make decent yarn. I like the rustic look to the garments I make with the hand spun fiber. I will show you all pictures of fiber and roving in the future and explain how it all works. I will be involved in an event next March 2009 which I will be show casing my spinning and will bring Saxon, an Icelandic Ram to the event. The exact date at this time is March 14th, a Saturday in Wetumpka. Mark your calenders and I will give you more details as they come together. There will be a goat show for kids and a goat meat cook off as well. Look out, I am entering my famous Goat Ribs, which will take the competition. They are mighty good. We will have a spread of the entered goat dishes and more feed as well. I think it will be an enjoyable day for you all and the family.
